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Strollerderby
Just who is in charge, here?
Who calls the shots in your family, the parents or the kids? Do they get to decide on small things, like what to have for dinner or where to go out to eat? What about lifestyle decisions, or things that impact their health, such as what they eat and when they go to bed? Do your kids get to give their input on expensive things, like vacations or, in the case of Wall Street Journal contributor Jeff P. Opdyke what kind of braces the two of them should get?
It’s an interesting question for this generation of parents. Many of us remember wishing we could give our input on various family decisions big and small. And in this age of wanting children to share their feelings and be open with us, it would be counter-productive to pick and choose when they get to express their opinions, right? Continue reading »
Will your family opt out or submit during Thanksgiving travel?
Heads up, Thanksgiving travelers. You and your family could hit a rough patch in your flight to grandma’s house — even before your plane takes off. There’s talk of a revolt against the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday, Nov. 24 — one of the busiest travel days of the year.
A group calling itself National Opt-Out Day are calling on air travelers all over the country to opt out of the TSA’s full-body scans and instead submit to the new enhanced pat downs. Even if you choose not to participate, expect delays and really grumpy agents. Continue reading »
Summer vacation won’t make you happy, it’s true. The science says so! Sharon Begley (ahem, defending her vacation-less summer) writes in Newsweek that data analysts have confirmed what she always suspected: vacations aren’t all that great.
Oh, come on. Vacations aren’t perfect. If you’re traveling with kids especially, things can get stressful and you might not even sleep that well. But still. Vacations aren’t uniform misery, now, are they? Continue reading »
For those of us without summer houses, ambitious travel plans, backyard pools or padded wallets, the idea of a “staycation” is awfully appealing.
Just think about it: No packing. No jet lag. No worrying about flight delays or lost luggage. No fretting about bed bugs at hotels.
You get to have a family adventure in your own town. And even better — this weekend, it’s free. All thanks to Target, which has partnered with more than 80 cultural and art institutions in 30 cities to launch the Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event. Continue reading »
I’m posting from Buenos Aires today, where I’ll be spending a month with my family visiting my husband’s parents. It took me three days after arriving to get my various electronic devices up and running so I could surf the web, post to my blogs and charge my camera batteries.
Last time we were here, I just left all that behind. But even on vacation, I’m not willing to walk away from my precious Internet connection these days. That makes me pretty typical, the Washington Post says. Teens are the biggest culprits when it comes to staying plugged in on vacation, but parents are guilty too.
A lot of parents think taking technology on vacation is wrecking an old tradition, but for others, it’s just a sign of the times. Obviously, I’m in the latter camp.
Growing up, my family’s idea of a summer vacation involved piling into my dad’s Buick and enduring a 12-hour car ride to visit family. If getting there was a drag, the actual time spent hanging out with elderly relatives in rural Arkansas was pure torture. To my mind, this trek was not so much a vacation but an annual obligation that not even my parents enjoyed.
These days, no self-respecting kid is going to put up with that kind of nonsense. They want to play on the beach, cruise with cartoon characters and generally have the time of their lives. And according to travel experts, more children are getting their way when it comes to family vacations. Continue reading »
When the Ream family checked into their hotel in Denver, Colorado this summer, they never dreamed their family vacation would become someone else’s hidden camera peepshow. But that is exactly what prosecutors say happened when their next door neighbor at the TownePlace Suites hid a wireless camera in the wall between their rooms. Continue reading »
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